Manufacture of textiles



Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v Cynwyd, Pa., assignors to Collins &1Aikman Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing.

Application March 21, 1934,

Serial No. 716,644

6 Claims. (Cl. 28-1) Our invention therefore involves a novel meth- 0d of effecting the immobility of yarns in fabrics composed of loosely interlaced yarns by incorporating therein during fabrication a dormant or latent binder and activating the latent adhesive or binding characteristics thereof which are in abeyance during weaving or knitting. Our invention further involves a textile fabric resulting from such method and comprising interlaced yams which individually contain or have united therewith a potential binder, a part of which is activated after fabrication of the textile and coalesced to prevent or minimize relative mobility of the interlaced threads.

The dormant'or potential binder may be incorporated as a constituent of the individual yarns as a coating thereon, as a core therein, or

these ways. The potential binder may be temporarily activated to form an active binder and coalesced in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by the application of a solvent, softener or reagent thereto, by changing its thermal condition, such as by applying heat, or by subjecting it to pressure, either alone or in conjunction with the action of solvents or softeners of the binder. The binder when coalesced is preferably of such nature, or is so treated, as to render it thereafter insoluble in water and non-tacky under normal conditions.

Preferably we utilize a binder constituent which, while its adhesive characteristics are in abeyance or suspended, strengthens the yarn and minimizes the abrading, snarling or tangling thereof during weaving or deterioration thereof in storage, without impairing the normal flexibility or appearance of the yarn.

The binder may be incorporated in the individual yarns in any usual manner, as by spraying, padding, or by means of a slashing machine. The yarns are then dried and rendered nontacky by evaporating the solvent or dispersing agent contained in the binder by passing the as an impregnation therethrough, or in all of yarns through an enclosed chamber of a heated drying unit or over heater drums.

Our invention is particularly applicable to the' production of a pile fabric which, in accordance with our invention, may have its ground so loosely woven as to afford an insufliciently secured anchorage for the pile, but which pile and ground yarns are rendered immobile and the ground strengthened after weaving by the action of a binder which was dormant in or upon the yarns, or some of them, during weaving and forms a flexible, insoluble, non-tacky binding layer within the ground of the finished fabric.

The binding together of the yarns by the activation of a dormant potential binder in or upon the yarns of a V-pile or loose-pile fabric permits the cutting of the tufts very close to the ground without danger of displacement and effects great economies in the amount of binder required, in the amount of pile yarn required, and in weaving. It further results in an improved fabric having an erect pile face and a back characterized by a textile appearance and feel and which does not clog cutting machine blades or materially increase needle breakage.

As illustrations of the practice of our invention, the following examples are given:

Cotton yarn, preferably undyed, is passed through a mist or bath of aqueous rubber, such as natural latex or artificial aqueous rubber dispersion, and which, if desired, may contain suitable vulcanizers, accelerators and anti-oxidants. Organic solutions of rubber cements may be used insteadof aqueous rubber. When the yarn is dried, it is partially or wholly impregnated or coated with rubber, which forms a very thin film on the surface thereof. This film may be made practically imperceptible and is dormant so far as adhesiveness is concerned. Such yarn is suitable for incorporation as the warp or weft, or both, of pile fabric so as to form a ground with pile tufts loosely looped therein.

The back of the woven fabric is subjected, after fabrication, to a rubber softening and coalescing treatment, such, for instance, as sprayvulcanization is not'essential since most of the binder is within the ground and there is so little rubber exposed on the back surface of the fabric that any tackiness may be overcome by the application of an anti-tack, such as wax or talc.

When no vulcanizers are used, it is sometimes desirable to incorporate in the bath or mist of aqueous rubber, a waxy anti-tack material or to run the rubberized threads through a waxy antitack material. The effect of such anti-tack material may be eliminated in the activating treatment for rendering the dormant binder cohesive. Instead of rubberizing the yarn by passage through a mist or bath of aqueous rubber or of a solvent solution of rubber, or the application of such constituents to the yarn by rollers, the yarn or the fibers thereof may be wrapped around extrusions or cuttings of rubber forming very fine cated product is sprayed or coated with water,-

filaments, and conversely a textile core may be usedhaving rubber wrapped thereon or twisted therewith.

Cellulose derivatives form a further satisfactory constituent for yarn for use in accordance with our invention; the yarn being formed from or treated with cellulose derivatives in a form whose adhesiveness is or may be rendered dormant during weaving, knitting or other fabrication and temporarily activated after fabrication to permit the coalescense on the binding material and the insolubilizing thereof.

We preferably impregnate or coat the yarn with,

'or form a yarn or yarn core from, ,a water-soluble derivative of cellulose acid phthalate. This when dried is substantially non-tacky and nonadherent and strengthens and smooths the yarn. After pile fabrics or other textiles are fabricated. wholly or partly from yarn so treated, the fabriwhich softens the binder constituent and permits ,the coalescence thereof by pressure or friction.

The coalesced binder is then treated with a Weak acid, such as acetic acid, which renders it insoluble.

We may also incorporate casein or synthetic resins as dormant potential binders in the yarn, either alone or mixed with rubber or cellulose derivatives, or both of them. When fabric has been woven from yarn so treated, the binding material is activated by a suitable solvent, and after being coalesced by pressure or friction or flowing may be insolubilized by the application of suitable reagents, such as formaldehyde or in other ways appropriate to the constituent used.

We may also bituminize the yarn, preferably by passing it through a mist or bath of an aqueous solution of bitumen or asphalt so. as to form a thin coating or impregnation in or on the yarnof a dormant potential binder. When the yarn is fabricated into a textile, the binder may be softened by heat and coalesced by its resultant fluidity and natural flow or by pressure and friction and, when so coalesced, it is cooled and solidified to unite the yarns of the fabric.

Many other binding materials and activators may be used in the practice of our invention, and yarns composed of any kind of vegetable, animal or mineral fibres treated therewith and such yarns may be fabricated by weaving or knitting into any desired type of textile, which after the threads are bound together by the binder may be dyed and finished in any suitable manner.

Having described our invention we claim:

1. In the manufacture of pile fabrics having pile tufts secured against displacement in the backing by a binder, the steps which include treating yarns of the backing prior to weaving with a binding substance possessing tackiness, temporarily removing the tackiness, weaving said yarns into a backing and concurrently with' the interlacing of the said backing threads, looping in the backing pile threads forming pile tufts, restoring tackiness to. the binding substance on the backing yarns and coalescing the binder to bond together the legs of the pile tufts and the backing and then insolubilizing said binder tosubstantially water-insoluble form.

2. In the manufacture of pile fabrics having pile tufts secured against displacement in the backing by a solidified rubber binder material, the steps which include treating yarns of the backing prior to weaving with a rubber binding substance possessing tackiness, removing the tackiness of the binding substance, weaving said yarns into a backing and concurrently with the interlacing of said backing threads, looping in the backing pile threads forming pile tufts, restoring tackiness to-the rubber binding material on the backing yarns and coalescing the rubber binder to bond together the legs of the pile tufts and the backing and then vulcanizing the rubber.

3. In the method set forth in claim 1, the steps which include treating yarns of the backing prior to weaving with a water soluble derivative of cellulose acid phthalate, applying an aqueous solvent to said cellulose acid phthalate after the weaving of the fabric, coalescing the cellulose acid phthalate to bond together the pile tufts and backing, and insolubilizing the cellulose acid phthalate by the application of a weak acid thereto.

4. In the method set forth in claim L the steps which include applying a waxi anti-tack substance to the treated threads before weaving them into the backing.

5. In the method set forth in claim 1, the step which includes applying a waxy anti-tack substance to the .back of the fabric after insolubilizing the binding substance.

6. In the method set forth in claim 2, the step which includes vulcanizing the rubber by a sulphur chloride treatment.

ALBERT W. DROBILE. GLEN S. HIERS. 

